1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to software interoperability and compatibility and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing interoperability between flat and interactive digital forms using machine-readable codes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, when documents are scanned and digitized, it becomes difficult to accurately detect form fields. The position and types of data for each field (e.g., text, numbers, check boxes) are not readily detectable. As a consequence, the interactive qualities of form fields, such as hints, data checking and feedback to a user, are lost. Accordingly, entering data into such forms after they are scanned provides a poor user experience compared with an interactive dynamic form.
Similarly, there is difficulty in data extraction, especially from forms that have different types of data entry (data filling). Some digital forms are dynamic and have fillable form fields for data entry, other forms are in paper form and need to be scanned, digitized and then filled in, while other are filled in while in paper form and are then scanned and digitized. In all such scenarios, quite often, there is no easy method of determining whether a similar form has been previously filled in, either in paper or digital form. Data migration from one scanned form to another version of the form is also difficult.
Therefore, there is a need for a reliable and accurate method for interoperability between flat and interactive digital forms using machine-readable codes.